As America approaches its Semiquincentennial in 2026, we honor not just the famous names carved into marble, but the deeply personal threads of conviction that bound everyday families to the survival of the Republic.
In our own family tree, two distinct lines converge in the fight to end human slavery and preserve the Union: a distant Welsh-Quaker lineage that connects us as 7th cousins 5x removed to President Abraham Lincoln, and the poignant, tragic story of our 3rd great-grandfather, 2nd Lieutenant Rifford Randolph Hallowell (1816–1864).
Part 1: The Shared Welsh-Quaker Roots with Abraham Lincoln
To understand why a Quaker-descended Pennsylvanian would pick up a rifle in 1861, one must look back to the early Quaker migrations of the late 17th century.
Through our Welsh ancestors—tracing back to the Anwyl, Evans, and Nanney families who settled in the Pennsylvania countryside—our bloodline splits into two distinct paths:
- One path leads down through Sarah Morris Evans and the Hanks line to Abraham Lincoln.
- The other path leads through the Nanney, Trump, and Hallowell families down to Rifford Randolph Hallowell and ultimately to us.
William Lewis Anwyl (1570–1642)
[Common Ancestor in Merioneth, Wales]
│
┌────────────┴─────────── ┐
│ │
The Presidential Line Our Direct Line
===================== ===============
Catherine Lewis Anwyl (1593–1639) John Anwyl (1598–1660)
Katherine Verch Wynn Robert (1629–1704) Elizabeth Anwyl (b. 1625)
Cadwalader Evans (1664–1745) John Nanney (1664–1716)
Sarah Morris Evans (1690–1741) Rees Nanney (1681–1747)
John Hanks (1712–1778) Grace Nanney (1716–1799)
Joseph Hanks (1742–1821) Hannah Trump (1751–1809)
Nancy Hanks (1784–1818) Joseph Hallowell (1785–1872)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN (1809–1865) LIUTENANT RIFFORD R. HALLOWELL (1816–1864)
16th U.S. President Co. K, 28th Pennsylvania Infantry
[7th Cousin 5x Removed] [3rd Great-Grandfather]
Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) held a foundational testimony that every human soul possessed the "Inner Light"—a belief that made them among the earliest, most resolute abolitionists in North America. While many Quakers remained strict pacifists, the moral crisis of the Civil War forced men like Rifford Hallowell to make a agonizing choice: keep the peace, or lay down one's life to smash the institution of slavery.
Part 2: From Peace to the Front Lines (1861)
Born in Philadelphia in 1816 to a family steeped in the Quaker tradition, Rifford Randolph Hallowell was raised in an environment that abhorred human bondage. His father, Joseph Hallowell, had served in the War of 1812, establishing a tradition of civic duty.
When his distant cousin Abraham Lincoln issued the call for troops to defend the Union, Rifford was 44 years old—a family man with a wife and children. Yet his anti-slavery conviction was so profound that he put aside traditional Quaker pacifism to act.
On July 20, 1861, Rifford enlisted in Company K of the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Recognized for his maturity and leadership, he rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
Lieutenant Hallowell's Path
July 1861: Enlists in Co. K, 28th Pennsylvania Infantry
│
July 1863: The Terror of Gettysburg (Culp's Hill)
│ Fought on the extreme right flank of the Union line
▼
Sept 1863: Resigns due to severe battle illness/trauma
│
Jan 1864: Dies at home in Frankford, Philadelphia (Aged 47)
Part 3: The Sheer Terror of Gettysburg (July 1863)
In July 1863, the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry marched into the epicenter of the American Civil War: Gettysburg.
Assigned to Geary’s Brigade in the 12th Corps, Lieutenant Hallowell and his men were positioned at Culp's Hill, holding the critical right flank of the Union army. On July 2 and 3, Culp’s Hill became an absolute cauldron of noise and slaughter. For hours, Confederate forces launched relentless night and morning assaults through the dense timber and boulders.
The fighting on Culp's Hill was brutally intense:
- Musket fire was so thick that full-grown oak trees were chopped down by minié balls.
- Smoke hung so heavy in the trees that officers could only guide their men by the flashes of gunfire.
- The 28th Pennsylvania stood their ground in makeshift breastworks, firing until their rifle barrels burned to the touch.
While the Union line held, the physical and psychological toll was catastrophic. Exposed to unrelenting artillery, deafening rifle fire, and the horror of close-quarters combat, Lieutenant Hallowell’s health broke under the extreme stress.
Part 4: The Ultimate Sacrifice
Following the battle at Gettysburg, Lt. Hallowell succumbed to severe illness and trauma brought on by the grueling campaign. On September 13, 1863—just two months after the battle—he was forced to resign his commission.
Rifford returned home to Frankford, Philadelphia, but the physical damage was done. On January 10, 1864, at the age of 47, 2nd Lieutenant Rifford Randolph Hallowell died from the afflictions contracted in service to his country.
Though he did not fall on the field at Culp’s Hill, he gave his life just as surely as if a bullet had struck him there—a casualty of the greatest battle fought on North American soil.
Legacy of the 250th
As we reflect on America’s 250-year journey, the story of Rifford Hallowell reminds us of the moral courage that defines our history:
- A man raised in the anti-slavery tradition of the Quakers.
- A distant cousin of the President whose campaign he marched to fulfill.
- A patriot who paid the ultimate price so that "a new birth of freedom" might endure.
From Rifford’s sacrifice, the family line continued through his daughter Amanda Merrio Hallowell, her daughter Lillian Amanda Pierce, down through the Bailey line, and directly to our family today. We carry his story forward not just as genealogical trivia, but as a living testament to the price paid for human liberty.
Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy
